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I loved riding the Tower of Terror many years back at Disneyland’s California Adventure and always adored the story developed for it. Sadly, that closed down earlier this year and thankfully, the other parks with this attraction are unaffected. However, I often wondered if there would ever be another product that would “borrow” upon this experience. Whether that’s with a new ride, comic book or a movie, perhaps a brand new take on this trope is what’s needed. I’m fairly certain this idea is not what creators Ra X, Michael Aryn, Darrell Smith and Shawn Smith had in mind, but I can dream. After all, isn’t that where some of the best nightmares come from?

Their product, Twilight Hotel, is a four issue comic book anthology which will eventually get a theatrical treatment. This team is seeking crowdfunding to increase the print run of issue one and finish the next. They also have high hopes to get it realized into cinema and I suspect, also gauge how much interest there is for their concept.

Plenty of humour and camp can be found in writer/director David Cornelius indie film Inhumanwich. This crowdfunded film leaves me hungry for more and thankfully I have in my video collection The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and its sequel to watch next. This niche genre pays tribute to the B-movies from the 50s in a myria of hilarious ways and this latest entry offers plenty to enjoy despite being “bare.” I prefer my meals with added dressings and a salad on the side.

In what the titular focal character is, I have a firm belief a bit of Lovecraft inspired monster making is involved. Technically, what astronaut Joe Neumann (Jacque Ransom) mutates into (by cosmic radiation ala The Fly) when a sloppy joe sandwich is in the spaceship makes me ask, where did the bread go? That did not become part of his final makeup. He looks like something between a Shoggoth and an uncooked meatloaf. He’s kind of like Pizza the Hutt, but with no eyes and maybe a mouth hiding somewhere in that hideous mass.

Anyone looking for a new way to fall asleep does not have to buy into those late-night scams they see on television. MyPillow is very dubious at best. I’m fairly sure I put my head on one during one hotel stay in the States and I believe getting into that zone to achieving REM sleep requires more than comfort for the head, but also in how much physical activity an individual had during the day (regular exercise is recommended), setting in the bedroom and mood.

Enter Sleepion 2, a piece of technology created in Japan combining sound and light therapy with aromatherapy to crafting an environment to help people reach a state where one alternative approach can not. It’s a sleep aid that’s supposed to be able to help folks reprogram their natural biorhythms. I have used the smell of lavender, changed the light bulbs to use red light and binaural sounds before to help me on those difficult nights. Though they do not always work on its own, perhaps combining each of these alternative methods can do a better job, since sleeping pills never work for me.

When not busy with CW’s Arrow, Stephen Amell and cousin Robbie (in other projects) are having fun in the independent movie scene. Fans do not see them working together often, and I for one am curious in how the 2016 crowdfunded sci-fi thriller, Code 8, will expand from a short (available on Youtube, or continue reading to view here) into a full-blown movie set to release in 2019. Principal photography has begun in Toronto.

The original product offers fantastic social commentary worth examining. The feature-length version will no doubt add to it, but kicked up a notch with some top notch special effects work.

People interested in helping further the budget can contribute on Indiegogo. The original campaign reopened (so folks can own the DVD/Bluray of the original short or obtain a few of the perks like t-shirts, hoodies or autographed scripts) as production continues until mid-July, 2017, with a release (handled by Elevation Pictures in Canada) in 2019. with XYZ Films handling foreign sales.

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